Desperate Murderer
by missingnown
Summary: A group of pokemon have been invited to a "grand party" where there seems to be lots of fun. However, they are tricked into a murder game where one pokemon has to kill all others without being found out. The distrust and secretive atmosphere among all and the urgency to complete the game compels the assigned murderer to act, before its too late. Will any survive? Read to find out!
1. Invitation

Desperate Murderer

Chapter 1 (Invitation)

(Slowking's Point of View [POV])

The blazing sun shone into every nook and cranny of my untidy room, revealing all the dust that I have yet to clean. The rays seeped into my bleary eyes, forcing me awake. I yawned. Another boring day. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am a Slowking, one of the laziest pokemon on this planet.

I scanned my surroundings using my supreme psychic powers and I spotted mail in my mailbox. Drat, I hate mail. Mail obliges me to walk to the mailbox,open it, collect mail and read mail... "yawn". Nevertheless, I gingerly trotted over and took out my mail.

Inside was a letter which seemed to come from this place called "The Fantasy". The message read :

"Dear Slowking, you have been cordially invited to this fun party organised by the great Mewtwo. It would be loads of fun and thrills. Please talk to the Houndooms outside waiting to escort you to the place.

Venue : The Fantasy

Time and Date : Any time you wish

Content : Fun and games

I look forward to your favourable reply. Wishing you a merry day. Mr Mime."

I rolled my eyes. Boring! But, those Houndooms outside my house ,with the van waiting to bring me there, look threatening. They were barking and staring straight at me. I knew they wouldnt accept no for an answer. I tried to use a Scald attack but they were prepared. Two Sucker punches was all it took to send me into darkness...

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	2. Paradise?

Chapter 2 Paradise?

(Slowking's POV)

As the van that sent me to the party jerked to a halt, I widened my eyes. In front of me stood the Fantasy. It was a castle with Murkrow black walls with white spots on them. It looked scary but majestic. It seemed to emit an eerie aura, striking fear in hearts. The Houndooms dragged me into the castle. "Hey, dont treat me so roughly!"

However, my emotions had a complete reversal the moment I entered the hall. I saw many Pokemon having a fantastic time! They were all playing with a myriad of interactive objects in the castle. My best friend, Quagsire, was also there. He had a simple smile as he went on a swing in the playground. Pity he couldnt express his happiness, he was mute. I saw some other Pokemon like Alakazam, Ambipom, Clefable, Conkeldurr, Machamp, Magmortar, Muk, Tentacruel, Tropius and Togekiss. They didnt seem to know each other but gradually became friendlier with each other as they sang and danced to their hearts' content.

Dinner was even better. A waterfall of fruit juice was for us to enjoy. Different berries were served for Pokemon with different was having the time of their lives. Food was abundant, and came in huge varieties. Just then, Clefable pointed out : "Where is the organiser? He should join in the fun too!" " It is okay, he probably would come later. Let's leave him some food so he wont be left out." suggested Togekiss.

Nightfall soon arrived and feeling tired, we went to our respective rooms reserved for us and promptly fell asleep, wondering what thrills await us the next day... I must say, this is paradise!

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	3. The Game

Chapter 3 The Game

(Narrator)

The Pokemon were awoke by the sound of singing by Swablus early in the morning. All of them were eager to continue with their fun. Little did they expect what horror awaits them, slithering up their skins with stealth.

As the Pokemon gathered around the playground, looking for new ways to play, a loud clarion voice rang out : "My dear Pokemon, would you like to stay here for a long time?" "Yes!" chorused the Pokemon in unison. "Your wish is granted!" Suddenly, the giant playground that used to have swings and slides vanished. A dense forest became to grow. "Is that a new place for pleasure?" Ambipom asked excitedly. "You might consider it to be one." the voice boomed.

"I have not introduced myself. My name is Mewtwo. You Pokemon are willing to come to the Fantasy to play. Therefore, you will play this game called "Murderer."

"The rules are simple. Yesterday, one of you was already selected. If you had a vision in your head that goes like "YOU ARE THE MURDERER", then you are the one. Here, I will show you an example." Mewtwo then projected an video clip showing Mewtwo shouting in the vision.

"Then, your job as the murderer, is to go around and kill other Pokemon. Literally." There was a gasp from Clefable. Clefable looked pale and was about to faint. Tropius decided to comfort her. "You have to kill them without them finding out who is it."

"Miscellanous Rules."

You will always try to kill. If you try to just slack around, I will finish you off immediately and the others go free. I can tell through telepathic powers if you are plotting a murder or just not playing the game.

You will never plan mass murder. This means that you can only attempt to kill one by one. This is to ensure that other Pokemon have a chance to find out who you are.

Other Pokemon can accuse you through the accusation system. If they are correct, you die and they go free. If they are wrong, they die. In this way, you can try to convince pokemon to accuse others.

"For those Pokemon here who doubt my powers, here is a demonstration. Clefable, I apologise in advance for causing you this emotional trauma. Please go to the laboratory to collect a Rattata in the Rattata cage."

Clefable came back soon after. The Rattata in her hands was pleading her not to bring him to this playground. Clefable gently placed the Rattata on the ground.

"Now, watch." In that instant, a ray of pure energy struck the rat. The Rattata was roasted. "Fried Rattata, anyone?" Mewtwo asked.

The Pokemon were in utter shock. They could not believe what just happened. Togekiss started sobbing. Magmortar buried his face in his hands.

"With that, I wish you Pokemon all the best, and have fun!"

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	4. Escape

Chapter 4 Escape

(Narrator)

The Pokemon were getting jittery. Slowking started thinking of a plan. "My friends, do not panic. Slowly but surely we would be able to get out of this hideous place. All we need is an ingenious plan." Magmortor retorted: "Yeah, please suggest your wonderful plan. Mewtwo is so powerful. Do you think he would easily let us escape? Face reality." Slowking responded calmly: " If we work together now and escape, it is better than us being devoured by the murderer 1 by 1. In this way, even the murderer will be spared." This was met with a swift and sarcastic rebuttal. "Fine. Do whatever you want. Dont get me involved in your fruitless attempts." Magmortar bellowed.

"Okay, so who has any ideas?" Slowking enquired. "Why not we smash the walls of this demonic castle down and get out?" Machamp suggested. "But the walls must be very sturdy." Alakazam warned. "Well, we might consider abusing the Guts ability that both Machamp and Conkeldurr have by poisoning them. This raises their attack power." said Tropius. "Are you out to kill us?!" shouted Conkeldurr. "No, you see, I can produce Lum and Pecha berries to cure you of your poison when you are low on health then provide Sitrus Berries to regenerate you to full strength." Tropius clarified. "What a great idea!" Slowking cheered.

The Pokemon set out to work. Clefable repeatedly adminstered Toxic to Machamp and Conkeldurr while Tropius focused on producing the berries. Ambipom acted as a courier, collecting the berries from Tropius to the Fighting type Pokemon. "Oh I wished I had Heal Bell. This would speed up the process so you only have to produce Sitrus Berries!" Clefable sighed. "It is okay, I can manage it." Tropius assured Clefable with confidence. Meanwhile, Tentacruel was trying to persuade Magmortar to help by using Will-O-Wisp so as to reduce the number of berries needed to be produced, since burn takes a longer time to drain health. However, Magmortar remained stubborn, and refused to lend a helping hand.

After what seemed like an eternity, dusk arrived. Both the Fighting type Pokemon were exhausted. The smoke and dust settled. Shockingly, the walls remained intact. The efforts by the Pokemon were all in vain. The morale of the Pokemon sunk. Everyone was staring daggers into Magmortar, blaming him for not helping. Magmortar remained unrepentant, claiming that the walls could not be broken down and it was a waste of time in the first place.

" Obviously you dont want to help, you probably are the murderer!" Tentacruel complained. "Blast you, dont spew rubbish. I know you are a stupid poison type and you always do dirty deeds but please dont spread it to us." Tropius immediately intervened and chided them. " We must not let tensions rise too quickly. We cannot let chaos engulf us. Please work together!" But, the Pokemon knew, that there would definitely be more of these disputes in the future...

Slowking, seeing that everyone was tired and weary, suggested that everyone rest for the day and think of more ideas tomorrow...

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	5. Rubble

Chapter 5 Rubble

(Slowking's POV)

Crash! I was jolted out of my slumber by the noise of falling debris. I woke up and pricked my ears, trying to find out the source of the noise. It seemed to be emerging from Machamp's room. I forced myself awake and moved as briskly as I could to Machamp's room.

As I approached the room, I noticed the door of Machamp's room was locked. Maybe it was just an accident. I peeped in through the window. I jumped back in terror. I saw Machamp trapped under the rubble from the ceiling.

That's strange. Assuming there was no foul play(No pun intended) he would have easily lifted the debris and got free. However, he seemed to be lifeless. I heard footsteps from the other Pokemon and I quickly hid in a corner, fearing that they would suspect me to be the murderer.

Alakazam came soon after. He was heard saying : "What is that noise disturbing my sleep? Don't tell me a murder has happened!" I walked out from the corner, and pretended to yawn: " What is happening?" acting if I was clueless. The other Pokemon soon arrived, and as always, Quagsire was the last to come. He probably woke up due to the noise of the other Pokemon rather than the sound of the murder. Alakazam used his Psychic to unlock the door, and got a fright when he saw the corpse of Machamp.

Alakazam stepped out of the room, and said grimly : "The murderer has claimed his first victim." "No! How can this be? My best buddy!" Conkeldurr wailed. He looked around with dark rage in his eyes. "The one who did this cruel act would pay with his life!" Clefable analysed the corpse, for she was competent in medical duties. "No Pokemon wounds, it seems like the cause of his death was not due to any direct attack from any Pokemon. All the damage comes from the bricks." she reported. "It seems like this murderer is rather clever. He or she knows how to hide traces of his crime." Suddenly, Conkeldurr whirled around. He was staring straight at Alakazam. "No Pokemon wounds. Damage comes from bricks. Rather clever." Does this description seem VERY FAMILIAR?" Alakzam became as white as a sheet. Alakazam attempted to compose himself. He tried to maintain fluency by talking in short sentences. " If you do realise, .. Slowking's room is south from Machamp's room. However, he came from that corner in the West. He could be the killer. Take note, he has Psychic powers too! Why do you suspect me..." What treachery is this! How dare Alakazam suddenly mention me? I instantly regretted my decision to hide then. It completely backfired. Luckily, before Alakazam managed to complete his sentence, Conkeldurr had already launched a Retaliate attack, which killed Alakazam on the spot. It seemed like Conkeldurr did not listen to Alakzam's attempt to accuse me. Thank Arceus for Conkeldurr's rock bottom IQ.

"Rejoice! We have eliminated the murderer!" Conkeldurr became very jolly. "See, I did my math. One typical Retaliate would not have KO-ed Alakazam unless he was the one who killed my friend! The extra power from this condition would kill Alakazam, proving that he is the murderer! Look, the reason for the lack of Pokemon wounds is because of Alakazam using his Psychic powers to control the brick wall. You guys agree with me don't you?" Togekiss seemed doubtful. "Slowking, can you use your Psychic powers to read the minds of us so we can know who is the murderer?" she asked. "Nope, that is banned. Nice try Pokemon." Mewtwo's mechanical voice blared from the room. "And I declare that Machamp and Alakazam have died." Conkeldurr looked up eagerly, hoping to find affirmation that the murderer was found. "However, sorry to say, the murderer is still among you Pokemon!"

We were astonished.

(Narrator)

As the Pokemon gathered around each other for warmth and comfort, wondering what logical explanation could account for the fallacy in Conkeldurr's logic, no one saw the trickle of purple blood from Alakazam, which signified a critical hit. 

Author's note : The colour of the blood has no relation to Alakazam or any critical hit in the Pokemon games and Anime. I just wanted to include a hax factor here.

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	6. Magmortar's Thoughts

Chapter 5b) Magmortar's thoughts

Author's note: This chapter is purely optional, hence 5b. However, it at least gets some of the character's personal thoughts.

Disclaimer: This character may/may not be the murderer.

Since the very beginning, when I received the invitation letter, I really thought it would be the most pleasant party I would ever attend. I turned down my girlfriend's date for dinner. I wanted to invite her to the party too but the Houndooms said no. Throughout the whole van ride, I was complaining about what spoilsports they are and how mean is it of them to refuse my girlfriend tagging along. Guess they weren't so mean after all.

Day 1 was heaven. I never had so much fun in my life. The only regret then was that my girlfriend could not join in the fun. For once, I could eat so much in my life! For a poor guy like me who works as a chef's assistant (only cooking food using my firepower), this was really a once in a lifetime luxury.

After Mewtwo revealed the evil of this party, I really got plagued by all the negative elements. Fear. Greed. Agony. Selfishness. Defeated. I totally refused to help out, even as I know this made Pokemon suspicious of my identity. But, until now I still believed, and knew that helping out was pointless. It worsens morale, (as if it was good in the first place), it prolongs psychological torture and it is useless.

I know moping in a corner is not helping things for others, but that helps to relieve some pain for myself. Damn, two days ago I was supposed to have a candlelight dinner with my girlfriend. Now, with my sudden disappearance, with no probability of returning, what is going to happen to her?

I must do something. I must try to get out of here. I must not let Mewtwo have my corpse... Even if I have to do anything, ethical or evil, I will get out. Alive.

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	7. Brainstorm

Chapter 6 Brainstorm

(Narrator)

Author's note : [ ] represents thought by slowking

Dawn settled. The Pokemon woke up, looking around with worry. Trust was slowly evaporating away from them. Slowking decided to call for a gathering in the hallway, in the hope of finding a solution to their current predicament.

Slowking said: " Listen, we have to find some ideas to either get ourselves out of here, or plans to leave this place." Ambipom, still in a lethargic mood, protested: " Why not we just slack around here and just enjoy our breakfast. Look, at least there are 3 meals every day. Furthermore, Tropius can always help to produce berries for an extra snack." Slowking countered, with a tinge of annoyance. "If you bother to look at the dining table, you would realise that the quality and quantity of the food gets worse every day." Everyone turned around and saw that the fruits given were in diminishing quantity, and had started to become mouldy. "It seems like, Mewtwo forces us to play this game." Tropius sighed.

"Which is why, we have to start strategising." Slowking declared firmly. "Who is going to lead us?" asked Clefable. "Well, seeing that my intelligence is much higher than any of you, I should be the leader. I will facilitate all the discussions and check for loopholes and flaws in any plan." Slowking replied. "How could you just declare yourself as a leader? For all we know you could be the murderer!" Conkeldurr bellowed. " Maybe Alakazam was right in blaming you." he continued. "In fact, you could be attempting to lead us so that you could mmur..." before Conkeldurr could speak any further, one Scald attack went blasting into his face. "Look! Slowking is trying to silence me! Help!" he spluttered.

"The fact that I did not Psyshock you shows that I am not attempting to kill you. It would be easy for me to finish you off." Slowking uttered icily. "Now, who still dares object?" Silence filled the hallway. "Okay, let's begin. Who has any ideas to stop the murderer?"

Ambipom swung his tail wildly, saying: " I was thinking of building a mini machine, where if one is in trouble, the machine would sound an alarm upon it being pressed." "Do you have the ability to build it?" enquired Tentacruel. "Well, when I was exploring this place, I spotted a laboratory filled with many machines." Maybe if someone were to help me we would be able to build this machine by today." Ambipom said, brimming with confidence. "Well, I would help you." offered Tropius.

As Tropius and Ambipom headed off to the lab, Slowking turned his head and asked : "Any more ideas? How about you Muk?" Conkeldurr seemed to sense something amiss. He growled, " I just realised, since Day 2, Muk has not mention a single sentence." Muk stammered: " It doesn't mean... I am the...murderer..". Slowking eyed him warily. "Who ever suggested you were?" asked Slowking. [There, Muk is trapped!] Conkeldurr prepared a Dynamic punch but was immediately stopped by Clefable. " Don't jump to conclusions! We have no proof! STOP!" Clefable rushed to Muk and continued: "We can obviously see that Muk is already shaken by this incident. Also, look at his timid nature (no pun intended). It is cause of you idiots who randomly accuse others that causes him to be so stressed out." Conkeldurr and Slowking calmed down, and seemed ashamed of themselves.

Slowking composed himself and called: "Let's just calm our nerves and go for lunch afterwards. Go and slack around. But be careful."

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	8. Venom

Chapter 7 Venom

(Narrator)

As Ambipom and Tropius headed to the laboratory, Ambipom spotted a large Styrofoam bag with the heading "Radioactive Sludge" written on it. Not thinking too much about it, Ambipom kicked it away, causing it to land near the water fountain. Tropius however, looked slightly interested in the bag.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Ambipom asked. Shrugging, Tropius shook his head, and motioned for Ambipom to move on.

After long grueling hours, they finally managed to create this device. Upon the user pressing a red button fitted on the device, a loud alarm would blare, which was audible over long distances. Feeling satisfied and triumphant, they strode off with springs in their steps, eager to give the remaining devices to the other Pokemon.

"Ambipom, I am feeling quite thirsty. Could we stop by the water fountain for a drink?" requested Tropius.

"Go ahead. I shall wait nearby." replied Ambipom. With that, Tropius went to the fountain and drank to his heart's content.

(Ambipom's POV)

Soon after, Tropius looked ill. Curious, I asked him what was wrong.

"I feel sick. I think the water in the fountain has been poisoned."

"Are you sure? Maybe you are really ill. How about I ask Clefable to check for you?" I offered.

"Nah, thanks for your offer. I think I would just have a rest. This cursed event has been giving me tons of stress. Maybe I am just feeling down" Tropius politely declined. Seeing that Tropius felt alright, I left, with a sinking feeling that someone could have added the Radioactive Sludge into the water.

(Narrator)

Lunch came soon after. The Pokemon were ravenous, probably due to the fact that they skipped breakfast. Togekiss suggested pouring the contents of the untouched breakfast into the lunch food so that they could have a mini feast. The meal supplied by Mewtwo was even worse than before. The vegetables were bland, the fruit had more mould. Seeing the worsening quality of food at every interval, Conkeldurr flared up. "Mewtwo, will you stop your antics and at least provide us with edible food?" he raged. "Calm down, since you guys look so pitiful, how about this new grand offer? If I see a murder being committed, whether by the murderer or not, I will reward you Pokemon by giving you fresh fish for dinner! How does that sound?" Mewtwo taunted. The Pokemon glanced around, hoping to spot facial expressions that show agreement, which could be a clue to who the murderer might be. Sadly, all the faces had similar expressions: Despair.

Muk, noting that he had to speak up more often, cleared his throat, and said: "Let's ignore Mewtwo. Here is a joke to cheer you up. (Bad joke coming) A man goes to a chemistry bar and says: "I want H20." A friend, not having any chemistry knowledge, chorused: "I want H20 too." The friend died soon after the drink. Because H202 is hydrogen peroxide, which is life threatening when consumed."

The Pokemon gave weak smiles. 'The joke was indeed funny, but no one had the mood to laugh.' thought Clefable.

Slowking suggested Tropius give out some berries to make the meal better. "What berries do you want?" Tropius asked. "Dry…. Bitter… Sour….Spicy…" the Pokemon clamoured. Each wanted a different type. "Well, since you guys want different tastes, an Oran berry gives all!" smiled Tropius, dishing out Oran berries to the Pokemon. "Yay!" cheered the others. As the Pokemon made a mad rush for the berries, Slowking thought he spotted a berry of similar colour among them. Was it the deadly Wiki berries which cause toxic poison? But, remembering Clefable's words about the need for trust among Pokemon, and Mewtwo's rule that mass murder is not allowed, he dismissed that thought and ate the berries greedily.

And then, tragedy struck.

All the Pokemon except Tentacruel started writhing in pain. They were rolling on the ground, clutching their stomachs. It was apparent they were under a poison attack. Tentacruel, being unaffected by the poison, immediately called Tropius to harvest Pecha berries as fast as possible. Tropius, still afflicted by the poison, replied in between bouts of breaths: "I will… try…"

The rate of harvest was slow, slower than usual, due to the poison in Tropius. But to the Pokemon who were lying on the ground, panting and heaving in sickness, the process of harvesting seemed to take forever. Finally, the first Pecha berry was produced. Ambipom snatched the berry and consumed it. "Hey! Don't be selfish!" wailed Clefable. "I can help bring the berries to other Pokemon quickly." justified Ambipom.

Every single berry that was produced was immediately demanded by some selfish Pokemon. Everyone was so desperate for survival that none ever noticed that Tropius had not healed himself from the poison. "Tropius save yourself first!" cried Togekiss. Togekiss had willingly let others get the berries first as she had the Softboiled move. Therefore, by using Softboiled, she could recover some health so that she would not die so quickly. Nevertheless, the strength of the toxic increased with every second. Togekiss's Softboiled seemed inadequate.

As Tropius exhausted himself with the process of harvesting berries, probably due to the unkind and self centred actions of the other Pokemon in not saving Tropius first, he was unable to give the berry to Togekiss in time. At the last second, when Ambipom was about to stuff the berry in Togekiss's mouth, Togekiss collapsed, and breathed her last.

Slowking thought of the berries. Could they be the Wiki berries, which texture and colour looked rather similar to the Oran berries? But, Tropius was also poisoned. Slowking wondered aloud: "Who could have done this terrible thing?" All eyes fell on Tropius. "What? Don't look at me like that. I had nothing to do with this." Tropius protested. Ambipom chimed in: "That's right! Tropius was with me at the laboratory. It must be the poisoned water fountain causing the berries that Tropius harvested to be poisoned." Conkeldurr narrowed his eyes. He was looking straight at Tentacruel. "Let me guess, you are a Water and Poison type, you probably entered the water in the fountain and secretly released the poison, contaminating the water." Conkeldurr said. "No! I was not anywhere near the fountain!" Tentacruel rebutted. "Stop randomly accusing me just because I suit the nature of this murder." Tentacruel continued. Ambipom, believing Conkeldurr's words, then bombarded Tentacruel with a whole lot of questions: "Then who do you think has the ability to poison the water?" "What proof do you have that you are not the murderer?" These questions asked in rapid succession caused Tentacruel to be nervous and jittery, and all his responses were inaudible mumbles. Ambipom, sure of the fact that he had caught the murderer, killed Tentacruel with a Fake Out and a few Double Hits.

"Haha! This is entertaining!" guffawed Mewtwo. "However, sadly, the murderer is still alive! Nevertheless, as I promised, you Pokemon would receive fresh fish for dinner. Now, where is my fishing rod? I have some Magikarp and Remoraid to catch! Haha!"

Conkeldurr was astounded. "Could it be Muk?" he asked. "Wait! No Pokemon poisoned the water. It was due to the addition of the Radioactive Sludge near the fountain!" Tropius shouted. Slowking looked at Ambipom. "Your hands look convenient to do that." Slowking suggested. "How dare you accuse me?!" Ambipom screeched. "No, it is not Ambipom. He was with me in the lab." Tropius hurriedly clarified.

Slowking looked very disappointed in himself. "I have let you guys down. I think we should not wander off alone. It is very easy for the murderer to do some nasty tricks. The murderer probably made use of the time I allocated for you guys to relax." "Can we create a device to detect poisoning? It is likely that the murderer would try the same trick again." Muk suggested. As everyone looked at Ambipom for affirmation, Ambipom sniffed with misery, then uttered: "I would try."

As everyone walked away, but sticking closely to one another, the crestfallen Ambipom buried his face into the device he just made, questioning its usefulness.

Author's note: Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	9. Plans

Chapter 8 Plans

(Narrator)

A few hours later, dinner was served. Slowking used the opportunity to call for a meeting, in an effort to find an idea to catch the murderer. Funnily enough, none of them had ever realised that the murderer has full access to the ideas being suggested.

Dinner was significantly better. Mewtwo kept his promise. A generous serving of Remoraids and Magikarps, along with slightly rotten fruits, were given to every single Pokemon. Clefable could not bear to eat the meat of Pokemon, so she gave the food to Quagsire, who gulped down the food with glee, haste and satisfaction. "Slow down Quagsire, you wouldn't want to choke." Clefable giggled.

Slowking signaled for the Pokemon to listen. "From the murders we have seen, and a lot of thought, these are the facts we have gathered so far. I am sorry if I have to reopen some wounds."

"Firstly, the murderer killed Machamp by attacking the walls of the ceiling in his room, trapping Machamp under the debris. Machamp must have been in a groggy or unconscious state, otherwise he would have been easily able to lift the bricks. Also, the lack of Pokemon wounds also signify that the murderer is rather weak and probably knew that he or she cannot engage with anyone in a one on one battle."

"Secondly, the murderer attempted mass murder by poisoning our food. I don't know why Mewtwo did not punish him. While we are unclear how we got poisoned, but we can tell that the murderer has a preference for underhand tactics. This supports my earlier point."

"Therefore, I suggest that we actually stay in smaller groups. It is unlikely that the murderer would have the opportunity to attack. As we still have a group, the likelihood of the murderer attacking is still very low."

The Pokemon cheered. Slowking finally seemed to have a way to defeat the murderer. However, Magmortar scoffed at the idea.

"Slowking, I would like to ask you, how would you determine which Pokemon is weak?" Magmortar questioned.

"Err.. probably a low level Pokemon would be weaker. "Slowking replied.

"Then, how low is considered weak? Are you saying that just because I am lower level than you means that I am weak? I can easily destroy you in a few Thunderbolts! You are just giving very stupid and simplistic answers to a difficult problem! And after your "WONDERFUL" plan, do you still think that any murderer would proudly announce 'I am low level'? Magmortar roared.

Slowking replied with a voice heavy with sarcasm: "Well, Magmortar, thank you for your great kindness in pointing out loopholes in my idea. Can you then, suggest a better idea? Go on, clever one, show me something. Or else keep your damn mouth shut and suggest improvements, not shut other's ideas down and provide nothing to solve a problem. As for your pathetic level , try to fight me sometime after this game. I will give you a good thrashing.

Clefable, suddenly realizing something, burst into tears. The Pokemon gathered around her, trying to cheer her up. "I just realised, if I had known Heal Bell earlier, the murder just now could have been prevented. It must be because of my low level!" she said in between sobs. Tropius gave her a banana from his neck and said: "I will help you in your training to level up." "Really? What can I do?" Clefable asked. "There is the training centre nearby. You can fight mechanical Pokemons to gain EXP and level up." Tropius replied smilingly. "Great! Thanks!" Clefable hugged Tropius with gratitude.

Slowking then asked Ambipom. "Ambipom, could you try to build a device that helps us to detect food poisoning?" Ambipom, still feeling sad over the irrelevance of his earlier device, nodded his head reluctantly. Slowking patted Ambipom on the back and said: "I know you are feeling miserable over the fact that your earlier device failed to prevent a murder. But you have to understand that by creating more machines, you are reducing the options the murderer can utilise to commit any more murders. You are doing us a great favour. Thanks a lot. You are awesome." Ambipom, feeling appreciated, nodded his head with more enthusiasm.

As the Pokemon dispersed in 2 groups , with Slowking together with Quagsire and Conkeldurr and Ambipom with Tropius, Clefable and Muk. Slowking had an uneasy feeling that his plan would fail, which could lead to another murder.

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	10. Inferno

Chapter 9 Inferno

(Narrator)

Tropius had offered to help Ambipom build the device which could detect food poisoning. Ambipom nodded his thanks, then said : "We should do that tomorrow. Let's have our sleep first." The Pokemon were tired and dispersed to their respective rooms, but doing their best to stay alert in case any sneaky one tried to murder them in their sleep. Each of them had the alarm device courtesy of Ambipom, ready to sound the alarm if necessary.

The singing of Swablus the next day did little to lighten the atmosphere. Ambipom and Tropius awoke rather early as compared to the rest. They decided to head to the laborotary to start work.

Or is it? Ambipom made a detour and stopped by the forest outside their rooms for some exercise. "Time for a workout." thought Ambipom. "Well, no one ever gets innovation in the morning." Ambipom reasoned. With a soft "whoopee!" he darted into the trees, swinging around and having fun.

Tropius lumbered to the lab. As he neared the entrance, he caught sight of Clefable leaving. "What are you doing here?" he inquired.

Clefable was frightened. "Oh it is you Tropius! You scared me!" Tropius continued : "So did you. Why are you here?"

"I couldn't sleep last night. So I decided to explore this place. It was pitch dark so I headed to the lab as it was the only place with some light." Clefable replied, pointing to the kerosene lamps hanging from the walls of the lab.

"By the way, at the back door of this lab there is something tasty to eat. You should go there for an early snack before starting on your machine. " Clefable continued.

Tropius made his way to the back slowly. He spotted the snack. It was a small orange cube. A fragrant smell radiated from it. Tropius swallowed the cube. It was delicious. (On second thought delicious isn't really a good word to describe it. It should be sweet.)

Thinking about what Clefable had said, Tropius wondered if she was telling the truth, and what information could he extract from it. After a couple of minutes, he looked satisfied. Whether it was due to the sweetness of the snack or the conversation he had we do not know. Strangely, Tropius soon left the lab and headed to the water fountain, which seemed as though he had completely forgotten about his purpose in entering the lab in the first place.

Soon after, Ambipom was exhausted after his joyful time in the forest. "Rats, I still have to go to the lab. Maybe I should not have went to the forest. Would my device even have any use? Stupid Slowking. Why wouldn't he stop pestering me?" Ambipom grumbled.

On the way to the lab, Ambipom bumped into Clefable. "Hi Ambipom, Tropius is waiting for you at the lab. By the way, at the back door of this lab there is something tasty to eat. You should go there for an early snack before starting on your machine." Clefable mentioned. Ambipom, still feeling tired from the workout, nodded his acknowledgement and hopped off.

After a few minutes, but to Ambipom it felt like eternity due to his tired limbs, Ambipom finally reached the lab. He recalled what Clefable had told him. " I could use a meal." he told himself, before climbing on the wall and swinging from lamp to lamp.

"Wow, I still can move with dexterity." Ambipom smiled to himself as he jumped from one lamp to another. Ambipom jumped again. By the third jump, his legs were aching. Deciding to take a small rest, Ambipom used his tail to hang on to the handle of the lamp. "Where is Tropius? That lazy dinosaur." Ambipom wondered.

And then..

"Creak.. Snap." The handle of the kerosene lamp broke. Ambipom leaped instinctively before he could fall. The kerosene lamp plummeted to the ground and smashed. A fire sparked. Ambipom looked around frantically. The "EXIT" sign was in front. Ambipom knew that he could not run on the ground as the fire would burn him. He had to rely on the lamps for his escape. Muttering a prayer to Arceus, Ambipom hoped fervently that the other lamps weren't creaking.

He leaped.

The next lamp fell, and Ambipom leaped again, and narrowly escaped falling to the bottom. "Why are all the lamps creaking?!" Ambipom's mind screamed. He did not remember the lamps creaking when he was building the alarm device. "Just a few more. You can do it!" Ambipom urged himself.

He leaped... and missed...

His exhausted limbs could not reach the next lamp handle. Ambipom collapsed. He attempted to dash to the exit, but the blazing inferno had already reached him. Seeing that his fate was sealed, Ambipom lay on the ground, hoping that this was a nightmare, and that he would wake up safe and sound.

As Ambipom's charred remains lay in the laboratory, Mewtwo sighed. "Why couldn't he just turn around then and leave by the front door?" Mewtwo wondered. He turned around, and went back to his nap, convinced that all non-Psychic types were stupid.

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


	11. Miss Execution

Chapter 10 Miss Execution

(Narrator)

It didnt take long for the corpse of Ambipom to be found. As Magmortar walked by the raging firestorm, he sounded the alarm. Soon after, all the Pokemon rushed to the lab. Seeing the fire, all the Pokemon started getting pails of water in an attempt to extinguish the fire. Slowking repeatedly used Scald to put the fire out.

(Author's note: Although cold water might be better, boiling water still works)

The corpse of Ambipom was lying on the ground. Clefable gasped, and was about to cry. Slowking motioned for everyone to stay calm. He needed clues, not commotion, in order to find out who did this terrible thing.

The answer seemed easy enough, at least for Conkeldurr. "A fire huh? Magmortar must have done this terrible deed." Conkeldurr accused. "Hang on a second, dont jump to conclusions." warned Slowking.

Slowking studied the burnt laborotary. Glass fragments of the lamps were everywhere. However, since there were only few Pokemon who had visited the lab, Slowking did not realise that the lamps were lit by kerosene. Furthermore, the burnt remains of other objects like test tubes and lighters made things quite unclear for Slowking.

Suddenly, Slowking realised that Tropius was supposed to be in the lab with Ambipom. Why was Magmortar sounding the alarm? In fact, Tropius was unscathed. Slowking eyed Tropius warily.

"Tropius, could you explain why didnt you notice the lab burning?" questioned Slowking.

"I was not at the lab. I mean, I went there in the morning, but then decided to wait for Ambipom to arrive. In the meantime, I went to the water fountain for a drink." replied Tropius.

"Is there anyone who can vouch for your presence at the fountain?" asked Slowking

"Yes Tropius was there. I saw him drinking at the fountain this morning." said Muk. "I was at the fountain in the morning as I felt thirsty then." he continued.

"Then, who else was near the lab this morning?" Slowking enquired.

"I remember seeing Clefable there. She was saying that she couldnt sleep, so she decided to explore the lab." Tropius answereed.

Slowking took a quick glance in Clefable's direction. She nodded her head in acknowledgement to Tropius's words. Slowking closed his eyes briefly. He was trying to make sense of the information given to him.

(Slowking's POV)

Could it be Clefable? She was at the murder scene. But, she does not seem to be capable of causing a fire. Clefable doesnt even have the move Metronome. She might have Flamethrower...

However, even if she has Flamethrower, wouldnt Ambipom be able to overpower her if she was trying to attack him? That doenst make sense..

Maybe she could start a fire, but it would be illogical if Ambipom walked into a fire and burnt himself for no reason.

What about Magmortar? He is capable of overpowering Ambipom, then burning the place with his powerful Fire Blast. But if that is the case, how did he manage to trap Machamp under the bricks in the first murder? He surely would have left some burn marks in Machamp's room.

(Narrator)

Conkeldurr was growing impatient. "I believe Magmortar is the killer. Look at this blaze. Clearly, only a powerful fire type is able to do this feat."

Clefable was not convinced. "Then how do you account for the poisoned water? As a fire type, Magmortar would definitely not want to go near the fountain."

"That was a trick by him. He probably wanted to deceive us into ruling him out as a possible murderer. He must have used his hands to throw the Radioactive Sludge in the fountain." Conkeldurr declared confidently.

"Therefore, I suggest we.." Before Conkeldurr could finish his statement, a Fire Blast from Magmortar hit Conkeldurr in the face. "Look, an attempt to silence me!" roared Conkeldurr.

"Do not accuse me of things I did not do!" Magmortar shouted, before getting punched in the stomach by a swift Mach Punch from Conkeldurr. Without any prior agreement, a battle began. The Pokemon could only watch in horror, unable to stop the two powerful behemoths in their duel.

Conkeldurr unleashed another Mach Punch, but just when he was near Magmortar, Magmortar countered with a Cross Chop. Magmortar then hurled a Thunderbolt at Conkeldurr, sending him in the air. Magmortar then shot a Fire Blast at Conkeldurr, landing a direct hit. Conkeldurr sustained a burn. However, the Guts boost that Conkeldurr acquired seemed too late. Conkeldurr slumped to the floor, gasping in pain. "That would teach you not to mess with me." Magmortar said icily, before walking away with arrogance.

Just as Tropius was about to give a Rawst berry to Conkeldurr to save him from his impending demise, the unexpected happened.

With a battle cry, Conkeldurr whizzed forward with a Mach Punch that slammed into Magmortar's back, followed by a deadly Drain Punch, transferring all the energy from Magmortar to Conkeldurr. Finally, Conkeldurr unleashed the trump card, a Stone Edge, obliterating Magmortar.

"Good riddance, murderer." Conkeldurr laughed triumphantly, taking the Rawst berry from Tropius as his prize.

"Oh dear me. Two Pokemon are dead today! Unfortunately, the murderer is still alive!" that annoying guffaw from Mewtwo returned.

The Pokemon were in utter shock. All of a sudden, a brainwave hit Slowking. Slowking closed his eyes again, deep in thought.

(Slowking's POV)

I see what Conkeldurr's plan is. All the while, when a murder occurs, Conkeldurr is the first one to suspect someone. Then, he would pretend to be naïve and stupid so that he can kill the Pokemon right in front of our eyes, and yet we would not suspect a thing.

Although the idea of him killing Machamp is rather hard to believe, but he might have done that so that we would not suspect him. It is easy to enter Machamp's room and pretend to have a friendly conversation so when Machamp is least expecting it, he can smash the wall and trap Machamp under the rubble. He probably refrained from attacking normally as he wanted to accuse a Psychic type Pokemon, like Alakazam. His Retaliate might not even need the boost from the killed Machamp in order to KO the Alakazam.

As for the rest of the murders, it would be quite simple for him to commit them. Even for Ambipom's death, he could easily finish him off with punches then hide the fist wounds by setting up a fire.

The only question is : Is Conkeldurr so smart to think of this plot? Is intelligence dependent on our Special Attack or our typing? Then again, I have met quite a few sneaky Fighting types that have low Special Attack, such as Scrafty. That's it! Conkeldurr is the murderer!

(Narrator)

As the Pokemon looked at Slowking, wondering if there is anything wrong, Slowking opened his eyes, and without warning, shot a Scald into Conkeldurr's chest.

"Conkeldurr, your grand plan to murder all of us has tricked all, but me. I commend you for your wonderful deception in portraying yourself as naïve and dumb, accusing people of murder just because of a few clues, then proceeding with your murder plan by killing them in front of us. In your duel with Magmortar today you showed how desperate you are to kill him when you came back from your weakened state to finish him off. However, I will put a stop to your murder spree by finishing you off now!" Conkeldurr's face turned pale as a ghost. "No... please don't kill me..." pleaded Conkeldurr. Slowking released a purple Psyshock, and Conkeldurr was finished.

"Wrong!" Mewtwo was laughing his head off. "I am proud to annouce the third death of today! And the murderer is still alive!"

Slowking looked around, and saw the frightened expression on everyone. No one wanted to be the next victim of another Psyshock. Slowking, realising that his thoughts were all speculation, quickly walked away towards his room, feeling ashamed of himself for making the same mistake about what he warned others not to do – jump to conclusions.

Author's Note : Please leave some reviews and suggestions! I am new to fanfiction so please do not flame. Thanks a bunch


End file.
